It makes for a nice UAV and can stay up indefinitely with radio intercept and triangulation gear. Can also rout communications through for better reception and communication without gumming up a satellite. Think mobile cell tower that could expand coverage to half of Afghanistan.

#4
There's a video that shows it was the envelope covering that was the cause of the Hindenburg disaster. A shellac containing aluminum powder and iron oxide. Travelling thermite bomb awaiting a fuse. Any geek (takes bow, "Thank you") can tell you that hydrogen burns with a pink, almost invisible flame, whereas thermite goes poof.

#5
A very cost effective persistent surveillance tool. Tethered units however, must be returned to their moorings in inclement weather which leaves an obvious collection gap as well as a window of opportunity for nefarious activity.

Then there are the heavy lift cargo airships, like the German CargoLifter CL 160 (160 metric tons (176 tons) payload). We would want one that could carry about 200 tons, or three Abrams tanks with ammo.

Medium airships are for cargo transport in high altitude mountainous terrain that is very hard on helicopters, and has no landing area for aircraft. It could also move significant but smaller cargoes in rear areas, in a slow, methodical manner.

Eventually one could be rigged as a gunship with a Metal Storm type weapon (Australian invented, but the Chinese are now developing as well).

Smaller airships, likely unmanned or tethered, have already proven themselves for short to medium range surveillance.

#10
I imagine a dirigible floating around silently at night with some snipers aboard (or simply spotters) could do a lot of damage. The dirigible doesn't have to be huge, and it doesn't have to use hydrogen.

A dirigible could also make a nice floating air craft carrier for unmanned vehicles. Potentially extending their range and eliminating a lot of the cross-Pakistan problems.

#11
Iff the USDOD-Navy hope to detect + destroy TLCMS + UW Strategic SLBMS just under, at, or atop the ocean surface or long-distance air strike, espec from origin/break-point to mid-flight stage(s), then NT Dirigibles is what they need.

Again, the Cold War Soviets recognized the potential, + considered same as "destabilizing", i.e. justifying expansion of the Arms Race + various MilStrike Options including Preemptive or Surrogate Strike - they demanded the US-NATO never dev such advanced-design Dirigibles = AirShips.

#13
Redneck Jim, care to tell me how a) you find a HMG with a range of 10,000 ft, roughly straight up and how to get it within range of the sensor platform before a strike is ordered in on it? Seconly, these are for rear echelon, not front line. They are not "combat zeppelins". I still have my doubts as to the efficacy, but those points are not amongst them. Right tool for the job - low threat environment only, save the expensive stuff for where its really needed.

#15
These things are not combat survivable. However, 99% of the time we are not in combat. So then they are a huge advantage. And even in combat they soak up a bunch of attacks that otherwise might affect a real combat platform.

PERUVIAN troops have captured the badly wounded leader of a remnant of the once-powerful Shining Path rebel group that lives off the cocaine trade, the defence minister says.

"His right arm is practically lost and at the moment he's receiving medical attention," Defence Minister Alberto Otarola has said in a TV interview.

He provided few other details, including when the rebel, Comrade Artemio, was found.

President Ollanta Humala said in a radio interview that he was headed to the Upper Huallaga Valley, the remote coca-growing region where authorities said Comrade Artemio was wounded early Thursday.

The 50-year-old Artemio commanded about 150 rebels, and the circumstances of his wounding remain unclear.

Mr Otalora said on Friday that it was in combat with government forces in the village of Puerto Pizana, but local journalists have reported that at least one of his own men may have turned on him.

The mayor of the La Polvora district encompassing the village, Nanci Zamora, said that Artemio had been brought before dawn on Thursday to an emergency medical technician in the nearby town of Santa Rosa de Mishoyo. Ms Zamora said Artemio had also suffered a chest and leg wound.

She said that after he was treated, subordinates took him down the Mishoyo river, a tributary of the Huallaga.

The United States had offered a $US5 million (A$4.65 million) reward for information leading to his arrest. Such rewards have proven highly effective in neighbouring Colombia in persuading some rebels to turn against their leaders.

Comrade Artemio's group represents about half of what remains of the Shining Path, which killed thousands during the 1980s and 1990s. The other, also involved in the drug trade, is centred further south.

Comrade Artemio, whose given name is Florindo "Jose" Flores, told visiting journalists in December that his cause was lost and he was seeking a truce with the government.

The self-described Marxist said he wrote Mr Humala twice but received no response. Previous Peruvian governments refused to negotiate a truce, he said, adding that he'd also proposed one in 2003 through the Roman Catholic Church and the International Red Cross.

He said the only way to change the capitalist system was through a socialist government, "but at this moment that is not possible".

Peru is the world's No. 2 producer after Colombia of coca, the basis for cocaine, although the US Drug Enforcement Administration says it has now surpassed its Andean neighbour in potential cocaine production.

DEA officials say that's because comparatively little coca crop eradication occurs in Peru, where plantations tend to be more mature and higher-yieldling.

PERUVIAN troops have captured the badly maimed leader of a remnant of the once-powerful Shining Path rebel group that lives off the cocaine trade, the defence minister says.

"His right arm is practically lost and at the moment he's receiving medical attention," Defence Minister Alberto Otarola has said in a TV interview.

He provided few other details, including when the rebel, Comrade Artemio, was found.

President Ollanta Humala said in a radio interview that he was headed to the Upper Huallaga Valley, the remote coca-growing region where authorities said Comrade Artemio was maimed early Thursday.

The 50-year-old Artemio commanded about 150 rebels, and the circumstances of his wounding remain unclear.

Mr Otalora said on Friday that it was in combat with government forces in the village of Puerto Pizana, but local journalists have reported that at least one of his own men may have turned on him.

Fortunately for the defence minister's honour, the second does not preclude the first.

The mayor of the La Polvora district encompassing the village, Nanci Zamora, said that Artemio had been brought before dawn on Thursday to an emergency medical technician in the nearby town of Santa Rosa de Mishoyo. Ms Zamora said Artemio had also suffered a chest and leg wound.

She said that after he was treated, subordinates took him down the Mishoyo river, a tributary of the Huallaga.

The United States had offered a $US5 million reward for information leading to his arrest. Such rewards have proven highly effective in neighbouring Colombia in persuading some rebels to turn against their leaders.

Comrade Artemio's group represents about half of what remains of the Shining Path, which killed thousands during the 1980s and 1990s. The other, also involved in the drug trade, is centred further south.

Comrade Artemio, whose given name is Florindo "Jose" Flores, told visiting journalists in December that his cause was lost and he was seeking a truce with the government.

It seems, however, that the government insisted on total surrender. Oh well.

The self-described Marxist said he wrote Mr Humala twice but received no response. Previous Peruvian governments refused to negotiate a truce, he said, adding that he'd also proposed one in 2003 through the Roman Catholic Church and the International Red Thingy.

He said the only way to change the capitalist system was through a socialist government, "but at this moment that is not possible".

Peru is the world's No. 2 producer after Colombia of coca, the basis for cocaine, although the US Drug Enforcement Administration says it has now surpassed its Andean neighbour in potential cocaine production.

DEA officials say that's because comparatively little coca crop eradication occurs in Peru, where plantations tend to be more mature and higher-yieldling.

Donations of Viagra will be appreciated.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday vowed to reverse Russia's demographic decline and boost its population to 154 million, as he ramped up his re-election campaign in the face of protests.

Last I heard, abortion was the birth control method of most women in that part of the world. Perhaps that's changed, but of not, getting them pregnant was never the issue.

Putin will have to start by paying them to have babies. They have been doing that in Western Europe, with absolutely no effect, even though it,s completely indiscriminate -- after trailing daughter #2 was born in Germany, the checks came automatically, and we had to fight hard to make them stop. Even the argument that we were non-citizens with no plans of staying long term did not sway the petty bureaucrat in charge of such things. I don't remember the final argument that made them cancel it for us, but it must have been a doozy.

#13
But I suspect the real decline is cultural and environmental. Russian men die young, really serious alcoholism is rampant, as is environmental pollution on a massive scale in parts of the country. And there's a strong sense of futility among many Russians.

#14
China massively increased their population at the start of the cold war. Not sure exactly what the policy was but its worth looking into.

Also Russia might want to create incentives for folks to move into Russia/Siberia. Folks not of Chinese or Turkemon decent so they won't dillute the Russian claims to the areas. Perhaps Indians as they have population to spare.

#15
First of all Russia needs some place for breeding parents that is not Moscow, and is a healthy, family friendly place, with non-breeders kept out.

No abortion. No birth control. Strict limits on alcohol and tobacco. Boring 9 to 5 administrative jobs for them men. Women are almost all bored homemakers, with hobbies and a few home based businesses.

Very friendly place, with smiling but forceful police who do not tolerate anything that interferes with the mission. Bring in a lot of young, Russian Orthodox priests with instructions that their sermons emphasize "being fruitful and multiplying", and good parenting.

Public schools with an emphasis on patriotism and pride in Russia. Lots of healthy outdoor, Boy Scout recreation for the kiddies.

Housing is set up with an octagonal pattern of homes sharing a "commons" large play area, each home having a small, fenced private yard, and several bedrooms.

Men get promoted (subtly) based on the number of children they have. When the children are teens the family is moved out so a new family can start in their place.

With a few new cities created as breeding factories, Russian demographics would skyrocket.

#22
g(r)omgoru, that's a double-edged sword. No-fault divorce made it a lot easier for me to cut loose from a 37-year-old man-child, so I could go find a guy (a) firing live ammunition and (b) not afraid of the responsibility. Would've been a protracted, expensive hassle to have to document the affairs, and not even remotely worth it to argue over our minimal assets.

As I hoped/expected, I've found many men who are up to the challenge. I believe the problem is the culture. In particular, women's lib, which did a lot more to "liberate" men than women.

ATHENS - The Greek parliament approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill to secure a second EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy, as buildings burned across central Athens and violence spread around the country.

State television reported the violence spread to the tourist islands of Corfu and Crete, the northern city of Thessaloniki and towns in central Greece. Shops were looted in the capital where police said 34 buildings were ablaze.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos denounced the worst breakdown of order since 2008 when violence gripped Greece for weeks after police shot a 15-year-old schoolboy. "Vandalism, violence and destruction have no place in a democratic country and won't be tolerated," he told parliament as it prepared to vote on the new 130 billion euro bailout to save Greece from a chaotic bankruptcy.

Seems like violence and destruction are indeed being tolerated...

Papademos told lawmakers shortly before they voted that they would be gravely mistaken if they rejected the package that demands deep pay, pension and job cuts, as this would threaten Greece's place in the European mainstream.

What place? Greece hasn't had a place in the European mainstream since end of Justinian's reign...

"It would be a huge historical injustice if the country from which European culture sprang ... reached bankruptcy and was led, due to one more mistake, to national isolation and national despair," he said.

The chaos outside parliament showed how tough it will be to implement the measures. The air in Syntagma Square outside parliament was thick with tear gas as riot police fought running battles with youths who smashed marble balustrades and hurled stones and petrol bombs. Terrified Greeks and tourists fled the rock-strewn streets and the clouds of stinging gas, cramming into hotel lobbies for shelter.

Ay Pee updates at 8:15 a.m.: the riots are over, fires in 45 burning buildings in Athens have been put out, streets are being swept, more than 170 civilians and 106 police were injured, 74 were arrested and 92 were detained by police, and the austerity bills passed 199 to 74.

#6
Well burning down your city is probably not in your best effort -
I'd be P.O.ed too if I was working class and they'd cut minimum wage from (US Amounts) $7 to $2.5
- and all my bills and rent went up..???

ANKARA: Turkeys state-run news agency says Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been discharged from hospital a day after undergoing what officials said was a second and final intestinal surgery.

The Anadolu Agency said Erdogan left hospital late on Sunday and was expected to rest at his home in Istanbul.

The 57-year-old Erdogan vanished from public life for nearly a month after an initial surgery on Nov. 26 for non-cancerous intestinal polyps. His office said he had a second, successful half-hour procedure on Saturday but gave no other details.

Sounds like a reduction and internalization of a colostomy.

It said Erdogan was well and was expected to resume work within the next week.

[An Nahar] The Maldives' new president expanded his Cabinet on Sunday to strengthen the coalition government that has ruled the Indian Ocean nation since the former leader's resignation last week sparked a political crisis.

Six members from four political parties were sworn in as ministers in the government led by President Mohammed Waheed Hassan.

In a speech after the swearing-in ceremony, Hassan said his government would carry forward the programs initiated by the previous government.

"That is what we have to do to recover from the problems we've had in the last couple of weeks," Hassan said.

His government would work to create a conducive environment in which free and fair elections could be held, Hassan said.

New ministers for health, education, economic development, transport, youth affairs and sports and tourism took the oath of office in a short ceremony at the president's office in the capital, Male.

A new Attorney General for the island nation was also sworn in. Hassan had appointed ministers for defense and home affairs earlier in the week.

Presidential Spokesman Masood Imad said some slots in the Cabinet were being kept open in case former President Mohamed Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party changed its mind about joining the coalition government.

But Nasheed rejected a U.S. call for compromise and dismissed proposals for a unity government to end political unrest.

[Dawn] Tehrik-e-Insaf...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... chief Imran Khan... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... has challenged all the political parties to unite and contest against his party.

"Tehrik-e-Insaf cannot be defeated even if all the political parties jointly contest against it," he claimed while addressing his party workers in Bloody Karachi...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... on Sunday.

"Nobody can withstand the Tsunami of Tehrik-e-Insaf," he said.

The PTI chief said he would transform Pakistain into such a country where people from other nations would come in search of employment.

He also claimed that his party will bring an end to drone attacks "The new Pakistain will not bow to any superpower," he said.

[Dawn] Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... said if convicted of contempt of court, he would automatically lose his office so there was no need for him to quit.

"There's no need to step down," he said. "If I'm convicted, then I'm not supposed to be a member of the parliament."

Gilani, in an interview broadcast on Saturday, said corruption charges against President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... were "politically motivated" and that the president had immunity as head of state.

The premier's statements were aired on the eve of a hearing at which he faces indictment for contempt of court over his refusal to request the reopening of corruption cases against his party chief.

"There had been a lot of cases against him, and they were all politically motivated," Gilani told Al Jizz television, referring to Zardari.

"He has got immunity. And he has not got immunity only in Pakistain, he has transnational immunity, even all over the world."

#1
It's pretty cool, but I wonder what one of those things would do on landing after taking some holes in those fancy elvrons after some triple-A.
I remember seeing a A-10 that took so much fire, one wing was essentially more air than metal, but it still made it back to base.

#4
The advantage is you can use a smaller carrier. The disadvantages are that VTOL sucks down a lot of fuel. The combat radius of a AV-8B Harrier II Plus is only 350 miles (300 nmi). That's about the same as an F-16C Block 30, carrying 6 - 1,000lb bombs.

According to the specs, however, they claim that the F-35B has a combat radius of 679 miles (590 nmi). This means there must have been a huge leap in fuel efficiency while still maintaining engine performance.

#8
It takes away 1 or 2 helo landing pads. In my opinion, it's colossal misuse of money. 2 LHDs buys one Nimitz. In any military action against a country with even a squadron of fighter/bombers, the carriers, with 4 times the, and better, aircraft, or the Air Force will be providing the striking power and protection. The LDHs will be be useless in a Pacific war and too slow to run away. Spend the money on aircraft carriers and let the Marines have LPDs with amphibious craft and helicopters on the flight deck.

Spike NLOS - "Non Line Of Sight" is an ultra long range version of the weapon with a claimed maximum range of up to 25 km (16 mi). As a newer, larger missile with an overall weight of around 70 kg (154 lb 5 oz), it can be fired from helicopters.

The Spike NLOS is already operational with a military customer, which is most likely to be Israel Defense Forces. In a deal concluded on 6 September 2011, the South Korean government has agreed to purchase an unknown number of Spike NLOS missiles.

#2
This being said, I think what may be needed is an escort "mothership" that can carry a few dozen of these drone boats, which can be quick launched on request, then recovered. Think of a modified fast cargo ship.

I can also imagine another configuration, designed as anti-submarine boats. With different weaponry, of course. Like a 750lb Mark 54 MAKO Lightweight Torpedo.

#5
As per the #2, the US Navy's new MPS Ships are roughly the right "fit" for a "Mothership" - the ENTERPRISE, NIMITZES, + new FORD-Class CVNS may be too oversized + powerful for Navy-DOD requirements, espec given that the US is formally not antipating the breakout of any major mil conflicts [World Wars, Multi-National]at least thru Year 2050 iff not beyond. IOW, UN-APPROVED MINOR "POLICE ACTION(S)" + "PEACEKEEPING".

US Navy-DOD PLanners may not like the concept of "ARSENAL/FIRE SHIPS", but wid the new MPS design it appears they are moving in that direction anyway.

* 1990's RUSH LIMBAUGH [paraph] > "ITS A TERRIBLE BURDEN TO BE RIGHT = RIGHTIST ALL THE TIME"!

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.